Quantitude

In Part 2 of a two-part series, Greg and Patrick draw on their experiences with the National Institutes of Health and the Institute of Education Sciences (as grant PI/co-PI, reviewer, panelist, and panel chair) to offer recommendations for those planning to seek funding for their own research projects. They also talk about a thousand monkeys, stages of grief, Southwest vs. Spirit Airlines, proper use of the word "however," Red Bull, and banana peels.

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In Part 1 of a two-part series, Patrick and Greg draw on their experiences with the National Institutes of Health and the Institute of Education Sciences (as grant PI/co-PI, reviewer, panelist, and panel chair) to discuss aspects of the grant review process, including the scoring criteria, conflicts of interest, what it's like "in the room," and what happens after grants are reviewed. They also talk about turkey legs, sausage making, acronym-based drinking games, hairy eyeballs, roller coasters, and Pink Floyd: The Wall.

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In this first episode of 2020, Greg and Patrick welcome the new year by offering what listeners have come to expect: no apparent plan for the episode, followed by rambling, circular, and barely internally-consistent discussion. At least they are, well, reliable. In fact, their meanderings lead them to a discussion of just that topic -- reliability. In an impromptu segment they call "Grumpy Old Man & Village Idiot" the Quanti-dudes talk about the often-forgotten but absolutely critical importance of securing high quality measures when addressing substantive research questions, and the severe consequences of failing to do so. In addition to grousing about reliability, they also discuss: questions you can ask in a dissertation defense when you have no idea what is actually going on, Walmart bathroom scales, frisbees on the lawn, toxic masculinity, carnival barkers, sunscreen, Clint Eastwood, and sibling IQ tests. Easter egg alert: listen for a hidden bark from Greg's dog Gus who wants to be let outside!

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HI! This iz JiffffY the leeemur. Im the nU Qwante- quawnti- QPod inteRn. Here iz a speshuL hoLliday eppisowd i made for ar lissnerz, with a seEkrit gesstt! The qDoods wil be bAk innn Janyouairie with alll Nu eppisoads. HapPppee hoLlidayz!!!!!! And pleeZ share this eppisowd with frenDz!

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In this episode, Patrick and Greg respond to a call-in question from Alexis, asking about how one describes to another human being what a quantitative methodologist actually is, leading to a broader discussion about how one makes unique contributions to the sciences from a methodological framework. In addition to talking about quantitative methodology as a way of knowing, they also mention: portmanteaus, social skills, druncles, Zantac, half-Transylvanians, NASCAR pit crews, carving a turkey, ice cream sandwiches, and trailing vortices. And even after a full hour, it is not clear to anyone that they actually answered Alexis's question.

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In Episode 6 of Quantitude Greg and Patrick take their very first phone-in question, which seems to confuse both of them as they are on the computer and not the phone. Regardless, they talk with Tessa from the University of Maryland about her question of how to best use modification indices when fitting confirmatory factor models out in the real world. In addition to completely ripping off the Car Talk Guys from NPR, they address The Pod, rusty knives, Applebees, Patrick's favorite game at the North Carolina State Fair, poking sticks, and 88-year old Irish Pirates. This may or may not be their final show depending upon how litigious the Car Talk Guy lawyers actually are. 

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In this episode of Quantitude, Patrick and Greg have the pleasure of talking with the always-entertaining and high-energy Don Hedeker, University of Chicago Professor of Biostatistics. They discuss Don's work in nonlinear mixed effects models, the importance of variance as an outcome, and ecological momentary assessment, as well as his advice for graduate students and indeed anyone presenting and writing in our field. Also mentioned in this episode are: getting scooped, day jobs, the Brady bunch, German parents, midlife crises, beer salesmen, putting a nail through a fish, The Ramones, Anarchy in the UC, and sneaking into hotel rooms. Come for the stats, stay for the polka-infused rock and roll!

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In this episode of Quantitude, Patrick and Greg draw on their 50+ years of combined experience to offer what is clearly questionable advice for graduate students. They begin with a discussion of a recent survey of the best and worst ranked jobs possible (spoiler alert: don't be a taxi-driving logger on your newspaper reporter beat). They then proceed to discuss challenges facing graduate students today and provide some advice that might help along the way. During their discussion they also mention warm lemon-lime Snapple, Agatha Christie, the McDonald's thinking chair, hitting ideas with a shovel, moving the goal posts, mentoring by MANOVA, badging, and using strings of long words they obviously Googled. 

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Greg and Patrick plan the episode around one topic, but things take an unexpected turn as the episode rapidly devolves into a series of pop quiz questions thrown from Patrick at Greg and back again. Rules of engagement are negotiated on the spot: without preparation, each person has 90 seconds to respond to a question of the other's choosing, which is in turn graded and argued over. Pop Quiz questions wind up addressing a range of topics that are core to understanding the thoughtful application of statistics within any research application. Bruised but not broken, Greg and Patrick agree that they will meet again in the academic octagon, bringing Pop Quiz back to QPod ... when you least expect it. 

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In the second episode of Quantitude, Patrick and Greg channel the spirits of the two old men from the Muppet show (Waldorf and Statler, in case you're curious) and argue about the relative risks and benefits of statistical power analysis. They also discuss Patrick's mother, leaf blowing, 11 year-old saxophone players, the fortuitous ambiguity of child labor laws, vision in pigs, the poop emoji, and they properly use the word 'persnickety.' Enjoy! 

Stay in contact with Quantitude!

• Web page: quantitudepod.org
• TwitterX: @quantitudepod
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